


The Medal

by Noninimicus



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Gen, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-05
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2018-04-03 01:01:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4080526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noninimicus/pseuds/Noninimicus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eggsy is charged with delivering Harry's medal to his mother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Medal

**Author's Note:**

> This is a short ficlet that was banging around in my head threatening my sanity, so here. Have it. :)

The house was tiny, but well kept. The flowers and hedgerow were obviously lovingly cared for and the little gate leading into the yard was bright with new paint.

It looked like something out of a fairy tale.

Eggsy swallowed hard and paused on the welcome mat. He couldn’t do this. There was no way he could walk into this house and…

The door opened and a handsome woman somewhere in her early seventies lifted an eyebrow at him. Her silver hair was gathered in a twist, saved from severity by the playful, curling wisps that had escaped to frame a lovely, kind looking face.

“Did you want to come in for some tea or would you like more time to admire the garden?” She asked, crossing her arms.

Eggsy fought the urge to run far, far away from this woman and her smiling brown eyes. He knew those eyes, saw them every time he closed his own anymore.

“I…tea. Tea sounds lovely, thank you.”

In the living room, Eggsy couldn’t help but gravitate toward the wall of photos as the woman puttered in her tiny kitchen. There must have been at least fifty in little wood and metal frames arranged artlessly over the whole of the wall.

Pain sat heavily in his throat when he realized that the photos -every one of them- were of Harry.

Harry and Merlin with two tiny fluffballs that must have been Mr. Pickle and Merlin’s own dog when they first got them. Smiling, arms draped over each other’s shoulders and so very, very young.

Harry in a primary school uniform sprawled over the floor amidst books and papers, apparently unaware of the camera.

A tiny gap-toothed Harry grinning over what looked like a demolished birthday cake, absolutely _covered_ in yellow icing.

Eggsy gasped as he suddenly saw his own face amid the rest. He remembered this. He and Harry had been discussing musicals, of all things, and he’d been trying to illustrate the brilliance of Tim Curry in drag. He’d never seen Harry laugh so hard. It was the last pleasant memory he had of the man. Merlin must have taken it and given it to Harry.

Who had sent it to his mum. Eggsy wasn’t sure what to think about that.

There were several others, all taken without Eggsy’s (or apparently Harry’s) knowledge.

He bit his lip, unable to fight the well of regret that brought tears threatening at the corners of his eyes. A gentle hand on his shoulder brought him abruptly back to the present and he took a deep breath.

“He saved my life.” He said, nodding to the picture. “More ways'n one.”

The woman nodded, seeming unsurprised. “Come sit down and have some tea, young man.”

Eggsy did as he was bid, allowing her to serve up the tea. As he added sugar and a slice of lemon, he contemplated the task ahead of him.

“Mrs. Hart…” He began, but she shook her head.

“Aubrey, please.”

“I couldn’t-”

“Of course you can. Au-brey. It isn’t difficult.” She stated, whip quick, but there was no sting to her words, only an underlying air of humor he recognized well.

“Aubrey. I came to…” he hesitated. How had Harry done this? How could Eggsy? “Came to…”

Her warm hand enclosed his and he felt himself tremble.

“I know why you’re here.” She said softly, squeezing his hand.

When he met her eyes, he could still read her kindness, but beneath was the pain of a woman who knew, and had known, that her child was gone.

“He called every Tuesday,” she stated by way of explanation. “Seven sharp, without fail. Creature of habit, my boy. When the last one came and went, well.” She flapped a hand at him and took a shuddering breath. “I know what my son did for a living. Likely against the rules, that, but there you have it. He could never keep secrets from me. This…was always a possibility.”

Eggsy knew that didn’t mitigate the ache of loss, but nodded anyway. “He’s the one who brought me in. Had faith in me when no one but me mam thought I was worth anything.” He brought the Kingsman medal from his pocket and presented it to her. “Medal’s a poor substitute for the man himself, and I’m sure I don’ need to tell you how good he was, but…”

Aubrey took the medal, setting it aside on the table, before enfolding the young man in her arms. “Oh, Eggsy. He was good. And he spoke so highly of you. Said Seamus was fair sick of the pair of you, bit he still found time to snap photos enough for Harry to send me.”

When Eggsy rose from her shoulder, they both took a moment of to wipe their eyes.

“Dunno why he’d waste time talking about me. I let him down, in the end.” Eggsy stated flatly, but Aubrey shook her head.

“Of course you didn’t. Life is full of pitfalls, my dear boy, but you obviously regard him too highly to ever really let him down. And he loved you so.”

Eggsy laughed wetly. “He never said.”

“He did. Perhaps not in so many words, but Harry always found ways of letting those few he loved know.” She ran soothing fingers over his shoulder as Eggsy let that knowledge comfort him.

“I loved him too.”

They sat together on Aubrey’s little sofa in her little living room for hours, sharing both their grief and the absolute worst stories about Harry they could think of. He was shocked to find himself laughing more often than not, especially when he finally realized that ‘Seamus’ was actually the name she’d given Merlin when he’d refused to reveal his real one over one Christmas.

“Terribly inappropriate of me, I’m sure, but I couldn’t very well call him _Merlin_  off-duty, now could I?”

Apparently he and Harry had been like long lost brothers the moment they’d met.

“If they were so close, why wouldn’t Merlin deliver your medal?” Eggsy asked with a frown.

Aubrey smiled sadly as she patted his cheek.

“Because Seamus is the type to grieve in private. Besides, you needed me.”

When Eggsy finally left, he was rather more laden than when he’d arrived. Several homemade pies and cakes tempted his gentlemanly resolve and he was even entrusted with a special tin of sweets, made with his help, just for ‘Dear Seamus’. He sat in the back of the black Kingsman cab and contemplated the telephone number he’d been given before shrugging and entering it into his phone.

_ur not gonna call merlin an tell him abt those sweets r u? dunno if I cn w8 till london_

The reply was almost instant.

_Don’t you dare! I gave you plenty enough to make you fat and happy until you have to come back for more._

Eggsy grinned at the text. That was an invitation if he ever saw one, and he would definitely be taking her up on it.


End file.
